Exploring Opportunities for Sustainability in the Malaysian Palm Oil Industry

The global thirst for vegetable oil can be regarded as one of the greatest environmental challenges of the 21st Century and interest has intensified with the prospect of biofuels. Palm oil has risen to become the dominant player on the vegetable oil market – and the main recipient of environmental scrutiny. Focusing specifically on the Malaysian context, this paper analyses the major environmental, social and economic impacts associated with palm oil production. Drawing on recently published research, publicly available data and a comparison made with a recent sustainability initiative undertaken by the hydropower industry – an equally controversial and highly scrutinised sector – it is argued that the full extent of the impacts of palm oil should be acknowledged by those on both sides of the debate. Moreover, it is argued that by moving towards a less polarised version of the palm oil narrative and one based on scientific evidence is more likely to lead to greater opportunities for sustainable palm oil.